WHO WE ARE

START Team

The START Team in Germany and Greece assists and mentors the Fellows and Host Institutions throughout the program. Its most important aim is to create a framework in which each participant develops to their full potential.

Although each country has its own team responsible for the respective program phase in Germany and Greece, both teams work together closely to improve the program in every step.

The START Team

Jennifer Tharr

Project manager Germany

Bundesvereinigung Soziokultureller Zentren e.V.

Jennifer is the Project Manager of START in Germany, based at the German Association of Sociocultural Centers in Berlin. She creates the supportive framework necessary for the collaborative atmosphere of Phase I, co-designing and coordinating all training and capacity building for the new 30 Fellows, and guiding them and their Host Institutions through the sociocultural Placements. As part of the Association's network, she also spreads the news about START in Germany.

Maria-Louiza Laopodi

Project manager Greece

Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki

Maria-Louiza is the Project Manager of START in Greece based at the Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki. She monitors the 15 projects of Phase II and helps the Fellows to grow as professional cultural managers. She supervises all legal and book-keeping aspects of the START activities in Greece, while mentoring the Fellows along the way. She co-develops the training and capacity building program in Phase II and nurtures a network of supporting organizations and companies in Greece.

Niki Kasis

Project assistant Germany

Bundesvereinigung Soziokultureller Zentren e.V.

Niki is the Project Assistant of START in Germany based at the German Association of Sociocultural Centers in Berlin. She is taking care that everyone participating in Phase I is present at the right place and time and all trainings in Berlin and Stuttgart are running smoothly. She masters the accounting for the START program activities in Germany and being German-Greek, she is always on the spot when no one can remember the English term.

Sotiris Stampoulis

Project assistant Greece

Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki

Sotiris is the Project Assistant of START in Greece based at the Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki. He takes care of production and communications for all major private and public events implemented in Greece during Phase II. Being an experienced member of various national and international networks for cultural innovation, he also supports the Alumni of START in the development of their participatory network.

Fabio Gorchs

Social media assistant

Bundesvereinigung Soziokultureller Zentren e.V.

Fabio is START’s Social Media expert. He keeps himself constantly aware of all the activities related to the Fellows, so as to promote them properly on Facebook and Instagram. After he started in Germany, he continues his work in the Greek Phase II, traveling around the country to experience the progress of the 15 projects first hand. This way he ensures the START community is provided with the latest and best insights into all the activities taking place.

Mirella Mantakou

Book-keeping assistant Greece

Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki

Mirella is the Project Assistant of START in Greece based at the Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki. She monitors the financial aspects of the 15 projects of Phase II and consults in legal matters when necessary. She assists the budget reporting and the documentation of the program. Being born and raised in Germany and currently living in Greece, she is the person when it comes to bridging German and Greek administration issues.